Digital Oil Field

Statoil, operating the Troll field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, wished to run a deep sidetrack from the main bore in a multilateral well that would exit through the liner in the reservoir. Several zonal-isolation methods had been evaluated, but on the basis of previous experience Statoil decided to use swellable-packer technology. Testing revealed that th…

The steam-assisted-gravity-drainage (SAGD) process along with an efficient steam-use process can reduce production costs and increase the oil-recovery rate. The use of real-time downhole monitoring is an effective approach to achieve this optimization.

I recently attended an internal conference in my company where one of the major topics was unconventionals. I have followed at some distance the business and technical trends that have shaped this still-­emerging opportunity set, but this was my first exposure to behind-the-scenes experiences.

This paper describes an all-in-one system that combines nodal-analysis and numerical-simulation models to calculate the effect of intelligent-completion components—such as swell packers, internal control valves, and inflow-control devices—on lateral production profiles.

The smart multilateral well has assisted in addressing premature water breakthrough, has enhanced water-free oil production, and has facilitated uniform depletion, which results in improved hydrocarbon recovery.

Silixa’s iDAS (intelligent Distributed Acoustic Sensor) offers a solution for permanent and continuous downhole production monitoring and reservoir monitoring by overcoming the cost and technology challenges encountered with traditional point sensors.